An Administrator's Guide to California Private School Law

Chapter 7 - Recognizing And Preventing Harassment, Discrimination And Retaliation

In Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church and School v. EEOC 829 , the United States Supreme Court affirmed, for the first time, the existence of the Ministerial Exception to state and federal employment laws and clarified that the exception applies beyond actual ministers and heads of religious congregations. In that case, the Court held that the Ministerial Exception precluded a teacher at a religious school from bringing a federal disability discrimination and retaliation claim, even though the teacher was not an actual “minister” and the teacher instructed primarily on secular topics. The Court identified a number of factors it found significant in determining that the teacher’s employment was subject to the exception.  First, the church/school held the teacher out as a “minister,” with a role distinct from that of most of its members by giving her the title “commissioned minister.”

 Second, the teacher’s title as a minister reflected a “significant degree of religious training” and election to her position by a vote of the church congregation. In order to obtain her position, the teacher had to complete a course of religious study and receive a certificate of admission into the teaching ministry.  Third, the teacher claimed a special housing allowance on her taxes that was available only to employees earning their compensation “in the exercise of the ministry” (known as parsonage).  Fourth, the teacher’s job duties reflected a role in conveying the church’s message and carrying out its mission. The Court observed, among other things, that the teacher “taught her students religion four days a week, and led them in prayer three times a day.” She had a number of other religious duties as well. The Court made clear that the fact the teacher had a substantial number of secular responsibilities was not dispositive of whether the ministerial exception applied to her.

Similarly, in Henry v. Red Hill Evangelical Lutheran Church of Tustin , the California Court of Appeal determined that a Lutheran preschool teacher fell under the Ministerial Exception. In that case, Sara Henry taught preschool at a religious school adjacent to a church. The school also had kindergarten through eighth grades. Teachers were not required to be Lutheran. 830 Henry’s duties included hiring teachers, making classroom arrangements, and giving tours to parents. Two-to-three times a week, she taught preschoolers a Bible story. Every Wednesday, preschool teachers and their students went to chapel for about a half hour. “Henry estimated she spent one hour a week teaching religion, another hour leading the children in prayer, and the remainder of the time she spent teaching—other than those times she was in charge of the chapel service—was spent on ‘secular subjects, including such things as: numbers and counting; the alphabet and letter concepts; basic science; small motor control; large motor control; social, emotional, physical and language skills; and computer skills.’” 831 The School terminated Henry for living with her boyfriend without being married to him. The School asserted that Henry’s “living arrangements were contrary to the religious beliefs of the church and school.” 832 Henry then brought suit under the Fair Employment and Housing Act for

An Administrator’s Guide to California Private School Law ©2019 Liebert Cassidy Whitmore 209